As I crawled further into the hole, the space became tighter and tighter, making it hard to move.

Mind you, a character I had created had gone through this same hole while running from the bats. I hadn’t really described the full journey through it.

Now I understood what that character had gone through. This was not pleasant at all, especially if you were claustrophobic.

Sure, I could have gone around the mountain to avoid all this trouble, but that would have wasted time and I wanted to avoid running into any adventurers out there.

I had chosen this path, so I had to see it through.

But it was not easy at all.

As I crawled, I couldn’t help but imagine something grabbing my leg from behind and dragging me back, just like those horror movies where you think you’ve escaped only to be killed at the last second.

I was genuinely grateful I could see in the dark, or I would have died of fear.

But even so, with [Clear Mind] deactivated, fear crept into my heart.

"Huff, huff." I kept crawling, one arm forward and then the other.

I did my best to keep my thoughts steady, to not think about that horrible experience when I was younger, but it was so hard.

’Calm down. Even if you get stuck, Ezio is here.’ I told myself and kept moving.

I had been crawling for thirty minutes and still couldn’t see the end. No light, nothing. Just the black rocky walls pressing in on all sides.

God, I hated this. This was something I was never doing again.

At one point the space became so tight it hugged my whole body, slowing me to almost nothing.

’Are you okay? Your breathing is getting heavy.’ Ezio asked, concerned.

I paused.

"I’m fine. It’s just hot in here and getting harder to breathe." Then I kept moving.

I had to keep going. If I just kept moving forward this would end.

Even when it got hotter.

I crawled.

Even when I couldn’t see the end.

I crawled.

Even when breathing became a struggle.

I crawled.

Until I finally saw a faint light at the far end of the hole. Still very far, but it was there.

I was almost out.

Relief flooded through me. I could finally leave this damned place.

But even with all the courage I had, with all the effort I had put into keeping myself sane, the world always found a way to mess with me.

"Huh?" I said in confusion, feeling that something was wrong.

I couldn’t move forward anymore.

"What the—"

I pushed, I strained, but nothing gave. The walls had been narrowing the whole time and now I had reached a point where I simply couldn’t go further.

I was stuck.

"This...this has to be a joke." I muttered.

"I’m so close. Why am I getting stuck now?"

Ba-dum.

Ba-dum.

My heart started beating so fast and so loud that it was the only thing I could hear.

My breathing became heavier and heavier.

"Huff, huff. No, no, no..." I pushed forward, scratched at the walls with my hands, but I couldn’t move.

I couldn’t move.

I couldn’t move.

I could see the light and I couldn’t reach it.

At that moment everything I had been holding back came crashing over me all at once and I lost all reason.

"Hah, huff, huff, get me out of here!" I screamed.

’Hey, Yves—!’

My vision blurred as the air ran out.

And then all of a sudden, I was no longer Yves and no longer in that hole.

I was in my original body, much younger, locked inside a school locker.

...

’As a child I never imagined that the real monsters in the world would turn out to be humans.’

...

I was an only child.

Which meant I had no siblings.

And that was why I always felt lonely.

When I was ten years old I transferred schools and started fifth grade somewhere new.

I had been looking forward to it. Meeting new people, making friends. I was the kind of kid who liked having lots of friends around, because friends made life better.

Or so I thought.

When I introduced myself to the class, the welcome I received was lukewarm at best.

The kids had already formed their groups, friendships built up since kindergarten, and I was the outsider who had arrived too late. Making my way in was going to be hard.

But I wasn’t going to give up that easily.

So I did my best. I talked to every kid in the class, asked what they were into, hoping to find enough common ground for someone to let me in.

It didn’t go the way I hoped.

"You’re a weirdo." That was what they called me.

A weirdo.

It was the first time in my life anyone had said that to me.

I didn’t understand it.

Why was I the weirdo for trying to make friends? Weren’t they the strange ones for refusing?

I kept trying anyway. They kept excluding me anyway.

So eventually I stopped and started keeping to myself. Eating alone. Playing alone.

I was so lonely that I started talking to myself just to hear a voice. It was how I coped with loneliness.

Then one day, a transfer student arrived. A boy from a wealthy family.

I felt sorry for him at first, assuming he would be treated the way I was since he was new. I was wrong.

The class welcomed him immediately, warmly, the whole room lighting up around him.

He made friends with everyone.

Everyone except me, the weirdo who talked to himself.

That was when I understood. The class hadn’t been cold to me because I was strange. They had been cold to me because I had nothing to offer them.

The new boy had status, and status was enough to make him interesting.

That was when I learned it. People only pay attention to you if you have value.

Without it, you get ignored. Discarded.

Harsh. It was unfair but it was the harsh truth.

Still, I kept trying. I played the games they played. Watched the shows they talked about. I tried to build any common ground I could find.

Then one day, the rich boy, let’s call him Adrien, approached me in the locker room.

"Hey. I’ve noticed you’ve been trying to make friends for months now and haven’t really been working." He said.

"No. It hasn’t." I said, looking down.

"I think I can help you.

I looked up, eyes wide. "Really? You’d do that for me?"

He nodded. "I’ll gather everyone from class and ask them to give you a proper chance."

"That’s amazing! But why would you go to all that trouble for me?"

"Everyone deserves to have friends. I could see you didn’t have any." He smiled.

"Thank you. Genuinely. Is there anything I can do for you in return? I’d feel bad otherwise." I said.

"Oh, don’t worry about it." He waved it off.

"I insist." I put a hand on his shoulder.

Something like irritation passed across his face before the smile came back.

"If you insist." He gently removed my hand and brushed his shoulder off. "Since we’re going to be friends, it’s only fair you do something for me, right?"

"Of course." I nodded.

"Then hide inside your locker and only come out when I bring everyone here. Make it a surprise." He pointed to my locker.

I didn’t quite understand why I needed to hide in a locker, but I was naive, and I was on the edge of finally having friends. So I went along with it.

"Okay."

I walked over and climbed in, and just before I pulled the door, Adrien stopped me.

"Can I have your key?"

"Why?"

"Think of it like a gift. You’re the present inside, and the key is how I’ll open it when everyone’s here."

"Oh! That’s actually really creative, Adrien!" I handed it over.

"Ahaha, you flatter me." He nudged me the rest of the way in. "Now stay quiet while I go get everyone."

I nodded. The door closed. The lock clicked.

It was dark and tight inside, and I was still a kid who was scared of the dark. But the thought of finally having friends was louder than the fear.

So I waited.

Five minutes passed. No Adrien.

"Maybe he ran into someone on the way." I murmured, and waited.

Thirty minutes. Still nothing.

I was getting worried, but I trusted him, so I stayed put.

An hour passed.

It was getting hot.

"Adrien?!" I called out, but the locker room was empty and no one answered.

I could barely move. Panic started rising in my chest and I began to scream and kick at the door.

"Is anyone there?!"

Silence.

"Someone let me out!" I slammed my fists against the metal but it wouldn’t budge.

Tears were forming in my eyes when I heard footsteps approaching. I looked through the gaps.

It was a group of four boys. Adrien was among them.

Relief hit me like a wave. He had come back. He really had brought people.

I waited for him to open the door and introduce me but to my surprise they walked past me.

Maybe he had forgotten which locker was mine.

"I’m here, Adrien!"

He glanced back. His eyes met mine through the gap. I was sure of it.

He smiled.

Then turned back to his friends and walked out of the room.

"Ah..."

My heart sank.

And despair settled in.